Mail chute



May 5, 1953 M. KATZ 2,637,430

MAIL CHUTE Filed June 7, 1948 2 SHEETSSHEET l INVENTOR. MARTIN KATZ.

HTTOENE K M. KATZ MAIL CHUTE May 5, 1953 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed June 7, 1948 /N VENTOE'.

MART/N KATZ.

ATTORNEY Patented May 5, 1953 i ED res *MAILUHUTE ill-artin Katz,.New York, N. Y.

3.,Glaims. I :i l

i This 'invention relates.:toimaillchutes:andresp-exicially to -.th'ose;mailt2ehutesamhiclware :inst'alled min tall" buildings.

=;;G)ne ofitheuprincipai idisadmantagesainherent in VirtuallyeveryLinstallationicurrentlyxin::useris the 1 timoval of thezglasssframetofithexchute must be 1 wfollowedcby; the-insertion'iof. adongrpole into the nachuteto-iorce:theqammedvletters through; This ..is-.both as difficult and: a cdelica-te operation. since "damage :to .the: mail :invariablw occurs when the mu'amristight.

l The principalnobiectwofthe, present invention fris:theaprovisionwotaislidable:maikchutesection which is normally positioned between a fioor and :.the-cei1ing -.be1owdtandewhich: isimovable to a more aceessible point. the mail .chute .system when a blockade eof. mail takes; place therein. This; slidable. iohute seetion :is ;-permanent1y in- .stalled-inthe mail. chute system andit normally eoccupies thevspace zbetween adjoining. floors. It mis, only. whenthemailijam occurs between a floor hand; its adjacent-ceiling; that? is, in-said. slidable" s section, that. it is pulleddownwardly to :ana'accessible :place andthere ;.opened. to unlock-- the jam. 5. .Thisdevice elimmatesthe need [and useof a long I vPole o ki flflsh-thejam; advantages ware manifold.

s.Another.. object=.ofsthis invention. is the; proivision of r at. housing efor said: slidable member n which. ispermanentlyaffixedto the fioorstruc- .;ture and Whichis adaptedtq-prevent a leakage Zofawater or/ the entry of. other foreign. matter .into. theLchute, system.

J A .fuithenlobject .of. this invention is the pro- 1 Evision of a mail .chuteiof the character. described. which thesections. from one. floor. to the next iaresgentlystapereduin one continuous taper that :extends ..the--1- fu11 dis tance. .z.between adjoining floors to ifacilitate. the passage .ofjmail there- 5 thIQll Eh z. A preferred form ofrthis invention. is shown. in

riEig. 1: is a-.ifra'gmentaryc faee view: of. a mail fi ehute in'whi'ch the device-herein claimed; is in- ='eorporated'; the fioorsi through which said mail chute'extends beingishown 'inrseoti'on.

.50. .when-accompanying;rdrawmgsg: mrwhrch: v

:Eig; 2.;zisv aelongitudmalsasectioni;.thrqngh the :22 mailichute :showmin- Rig .1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary..Mertiealseotion thnough illihlllplQElTSGCtiOH ofatheymaiiizchute shown in Fig. 5 Zitaicen on; alplaneyw-hichs is mflrmalto they plane fofitheasectiorr'zotuEig. 2.

4: is: a; fragmentarmdetailed nzievspin sec- .cetioni fI1bhe5lSide.,-W3;11S ois-that; partpoi zthe mail chute-fwhichiieshetweemfloors; 'anddrawn .to an lil enlarged-scale.

.a 51.1155. a1. "f lamentary;,- hp1 iz ntal-.-section 1 therethrough on the; line -.5-f-5 iof zljigh 1.

.1 Fig.1 6515i a similar.isectiongtaken,eon/ the line 6::9-6';l0f Fig. 1.

Fig. '7.-.is awiew sim-ilarrto; that 01:? Eigu .fi,;.show- :;::ing .the entirakehuteqand uot; merely -lone side thereof ,asxdoes Big; 6'.

s1 Fig; 8' is aifrontiview: of,the.-.slidable maillchute :-lseotion.whereiirjielaimed.

n Fig; 9;.is al -top viemthereof.

5. 5; drawing it ';Wi11 .be seen} gthat; the mail .chute under:- consideration; includes .;ar1;;.o 11ten ;easin or facia 1010112 whichds, mogntectalettemdrop ll, -glass panels .l2,land aypair oi-. f rames-l 3'support :ing; the glasspanelszon said casing. The casing Ill extends-from a littleahovathe ;eei1ing.line 2| on one; stormto a little-ibelow thefloor lline .28 on -;therst.ormbelow..wBetwenreaeh story, i. e., be- .tween :;the. :ceiling .ofironewstory. sand :the immediately adjacent floor above it and confined with- :in thecasing; l [Lisa thimbleor flashing .22 which is flared-:outwardly at}theabotto niadjacent the .eeiling: of thenlower story .to.,-.accqmmodate and embracesthe .top end of. the casing mniaeia-helow it. The topofi the .thimble. extendsinto the bottom endlof the cas ng/above, it. .-.It. is therefore apparent that-.any .flow or leakage of water would necessarily be1preyented froz'nentering. the easslng.

.It..wil1..be apparent ;irom..,examination of Figs. 5, 6,..and '7..that;casing. ;lu .eomprisesa...pair of side .members ..to2 'IwhiclrltheIace,;plate,.. glass panelsgand .pa'nelj'frames. may be attached. Casing 10 also serves as so e; and more. particularly alpairof tracks, one-on each of its two side ....members, to position-,thechnte. therein" .It will be noted that formed on theiinside of these two side qmembersthat vcomprisefithe ;casing:- is a pair of L-shapjedflangesi slidably mountedbetween each pair'o f bfianges apdbetween'said'flanges and the=side plate'=to*Which theyfare eonneoted, is a.

plate-*3 0- which i'supportsitheichute 3 I by' -means 3 of brackets 32 which are disposed between and are connected to said slidably mounted plate and said chute. These slidable plates are movable longitudinally of the casing, and it is by this means that each chute section may be properly installed in its respective casing. Once the installation is complete, there is no need for any sliding or other relative movement between the slidably mounted plates and the chutes supported thereby on the one hand and the casing on the other.

The chute 3| is of conventional cross-sectional shape, that is, it comprises a U-shaped channel member having inwardly turned ends 35. A face plate 36 is affixed to the front of said channelshaped chute, and more particularly to its inwardly turned end portions, thereby closing the channel and providing a substantially rectangular closed chute. It will be understood, however, that this front plate 36 is mounted on the chute only between a floor and its adjacent ceiling, and hence its length corresponds to the parts not covered by glass panels.

It has been stated that each chute section 3| is conventional in cross-sectional shape. Its length, however, is not conventional since it extends the full distance from below the floor line of one-story to above the floor line on the story above, and more particularly from the thimble on one floor to the thimble on the next floor. In conventional mail chutes a plurality of chute sec tions is provided between adjacent floors, and each section is tapered at its ends to cooperate with the succeeding section. In the present invention each long chute section is provided with a gentle taper that enables its lower end to enter the upper end of thesection below it, and enables its upper end to receive the lower end of the section above it. It is this unbroken taper extending the full distance from one floor to the i next floor that aids to prevent jamming of the mail.

The between-floors attachment which constitutes the most important feature of the present invention is best shown in Figures 8, 9 and of the drawing. It will there be seen that this member comprises a channel-shaped casing 40 having a door 4| slidably connected thereto. The casing has inwardly-turned flanges 42 which engage U-shaped flanges 43 on the door 4|, and it is the inter-engagement of said flanges 42 with the U-shaped flanges 43 that provides the means by which the door is slidably mounted on the easmg.

-Locking means is provided to prevent relative movement between the casing and its door, and one form of said locking means is shown in the drawing to comprise a sliding bolt 45 mounted on the door which is adapted to enter into engagement with a bolt-receiving member 46 mounted on the casing. A second sliding bolt 41 is provided to engage a bracket or catch 48 which is connected to one of the slidably mounted plates of the chute construction to prevent relative movement between the between-floors attachment, which is shown in the last three figures of the drawing, and the chute construction.

It will be seen in Fig. 2 that casing 40, together with its door 4| and its two bolts 45 and 41, is slidably mounted within chute 3|. The normal position of this slidable member is shown at the upper end of the chute construction shown in Fig. 2. This normal position is what may be termed a between-floors position and it is at this point that mail-jamming proves the most troublesome. It will be seen that engagement of bolt 41 with bracket 48 supports the sliding member in the chute in said position. At the lower end of the chute construction shown in Fig. 2, another sliding member is shown in a more accessible position, that is, between the ceiling and the floor below it. In order to bring the sliding member into this position, bolt 41 must be caused to disengage catch 48 and the sliding member may then be brought downwardly either by gravity or by a simple pulling or pushing force applied to it. When it reaches the more accessible position, the second bolt 45 may be drawn and the sliding door 4| may then be moved into open position, thereby exposing the inside of casing 40.

To insure proper between-floors positioning of the slidable member, each chute section 3| is provided at its upper end with a flange or bead 50. When it is desired to return the slidable member to its normal position shown at the top of Fig. 2, it is moved upwardly until contact is made with bead 50 on the chute section 3| in which the slidable member is mounted. Bolt 41 has ridden along the cam face of keeper member 48 and has snapped into place under the urgency of the spring and the device thereby assumes a fixed operative position.

The position which the sliding between-floors member occupies relative to the chute sections proper is best seen in Fig. 2. It will be noted at the top of said figure that when this sliding member occupies its between-floors position, which is its normal position, the lower end of the upper chute section extends part way into it and the said sliding member extends wholly within the upper end of the lower chute section. Hence it may be said that the sliding member extends between the two telescoping chute sections, the lower end of the upper chute constituting the inner member, the sliding member constituting the intermediate member, and the upper end of the lower chute constituting the outer member.

(See Fig. 3.)

It will be understood that the foregoing is a description of a preferred form of this invention and that this form is susceptible of many modifications within the broad scope of the invention. For example, the locking mechanism by which the sliding door is locked in closed position on the slidable between-floors member may assume other forms than that shown in the drawing. A sliding bolt is obviously but one type of locking mechanism and many other types will be found equally suitable. The same is true of the locking mechanism by which the slidable member is held in between-floors position. Here too a sliding bolt is shown but it will be understood that other types of locking mechanism may also be used. As another illustration, the shape of the thimble as shown in the drawing is not critical except to the extent that its upper end must necessarily be of a size which enables it to fit into the chute casing which extends above it, and its lower end is of a size which enables it to receive and embrace the upper end of the chute casing which lies below it. The thimble shown in the drawing is provided with a flared skirt at its lower end to accommodate the upper end of the chute casing which lies below it. It will be apparent that an enlarged lower end may be provided in the thim ble by means other than flared skirt means. It will also be apparent that it is immaterial whether the flare is provided at the lower end of the thimble or at the lower end of the chute casing. In either case, the upper end of the thimble would extend into the lower end of the chute cas ing which is disposed above it, and the lower end of the thimble would extend around the upper end of the chute casing which is disposed below it.

The term between-floors as used herein is intended to designate the space or area which lies between each floor surface and the ceiling surface which lies immediately below it.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A mail chute for a multi-storied building structure having floors and ceilings, comprising a plurality of stationary tapered chute sections each of which extends the full distance from one floor to the next floor, the lower end of each stationary chute section extending into the upper end of the stationary chute section below it and an auxiliary movable chute section which is normally disposed between the telescopic walls of the lower end of each chute section and the upper end of the chute section below it, said movable chute section being slidably and removably mounted in the upper end of a chute section between a floor and an adjacent ceiling whereby said movable chute section may be lowered to a more accessible place in the stationary chute section when a letter-jam occurs in said movable chute section, a door being provided in the movable chute section to render any letters damaged therein more accessible from the outside, said movable chute section being also provided with locking means for holding said door in normal, closed position relative thereto.

2. A mail chute in accordance with claim 1, in which the movable chute section is provided with locking means for holding said movable chute section in its normal position between a floor and its adjacent ceiling.

3. In a mail chute of the type having a plurality of stationary chute sections one above the other, with the bottom of each chute section except the lowermost extending into the top of the next lower chute section, with the walls of their adjacent ends laterally spaced apart; a movable auxiliary chute member which is slidably mounted in the upper end of each stationary chute section, the upper end of the movable chute member receiving the lower end of the stationary chute section lying above it, said movable chute member being movable to selected size in the last-mentioned stationary chute section.

MARTIN KATZ.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 545,201 Howard Aug. 27, 1895 791,995 Anderson 1 June 13, 1905 913,114 Ehrlich Feb. 23, 1909 1,794,104 Cutler Feb. 24, 1931 2,260,714 Katz Oct. 24, 1941 2,299,896 Harper Oct. 27, 1942 

